National Tide 1980

Although Ning Weimin had been telling Matsumoto Keiko that it was nothing, trying to reassure her.

But the actual situation was terrible, in fact, much more serious than Ning Weimin had imagined.

When Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko sat together with two generals of Fog Studios, Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watanabe, for an emergency meeting to study the situation and find countermeasures, Akira Okamoto's feedback stunned everyone present.

Let's talk about the troubles encountered by the movie "Crazy Rich Asians" first.

Because Zun Long's character in the movie is the successor of a prominent Chinese family in Singapore.

Originally, according to the script and storyline of the movie "Crazy Rich Asians", many famous landmarks and attractions in Singapore would become important scenes in the movie.

So in a sense, this movie actually has a significant role in promoting Singapore's image and tourism industry.

Given that the investment in the movie "Crazy Rich Asians" is nearly 20 million US dollars, and it also brings together many stars from China, Japan and France, it is one of the best big-budget movies in Asia.

Logically speaking, whether it is the Singapore government or Singapore's hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions, they should be happy to be selected by the crew, and there is no reason not to actively assist the crew in filming.

In fact, this was indeed the case when the crew first arrived in Singapore.

The relevant procedures for the government's filming permit were handled smoothly, the fees for private land were also very cheap, and the police even helped maintain order in public streets. The filming conditions were much more optimistic than the crew initially expected.

But for some reason, such a positive attitude seemed to disappear overnight, and the crew suddenly became a group of people who were not loved by their uncles or grandmothers.

The problem the crew is facing now is that not only the locations that were originally agreed to be filmed have now changed their minds and adopted a rejection attitude towards the "Crazy Rich Asians" crew.

For example, a private club in Ann Siang Hill and a seafood restaurant on Bukit Pasoh Road have all changed their minds and refused to accept the crew's filming.

Even for the parts that have been filmed, those filming locations have contacted the crew and refused to appear in the film.

For example, Raffles Hotel and Praise Square in Singapore not only took the initiative to return the filming fees they had paid, but also asked them to delete all the filmed films.

And said that if they did not do so, they might face the trouble of litigation in the future.

In this way, it means that all the filming work of the crew in Singapore in the past ten days has become useless.

The economic loss caused is probably 200 to 300 million yen.

Not to mention, the filming procedures initially applied for by the crew were only for 20 days. If they want to find a new location for filming, they have to apply for an extension from the relevant department.

In theory, this procedure should be easy to apply for.

But for some reason, the relevant government departments in Singapore refused to provide convenience, and sent people to re-examine their filming qualifications, which delayed them for another day and a half.

So now Director Osawa Yutaka and the production representatives sent by Kiri Studios are at a loss, and the crew actors are even more unstable.

Everyone doesn't know whether to stay or leave. They are worried about being criticized by Ning Weimin, and they are even more afraid that the film will not be able to continue filming because of the huge losses.

As for Tokyo itself, the situation is not much better than Singapore.

Although the crew of "Black Leather Notebook" did not have any problems with the venue.

After all, this story tells the love, hatred and hatred of a mama-san in a Ginza club.

The general plot is that the heroine played by Matsumoto Keiko is a grassroots bank employee who is outstanding but treated harshly by her leader. She successfully extorted 180 million yen from the bank with only a "black leather notebook" that records many bank business secrets, and turned into the youngest mama-san in Ginza.

After that, she continued to work alone in the dark world, secretly recording the privacy of various guests in the black manual again and again, and then choosing targets to blackmail and expand her business.

This means that the main place of the plot is not in the Ginza club, the restaurant is the bank, and the resources directly controlled by Ning Weimin can almost fully meet the needs of filming.

In fact, the actual expenditure of the crew in this regard is also the least, and the false venue fees and consumables can all be used to offset taxes.

But the problem is that something went wrong with the actors unexpectedly.

There are about a dozen important characters in the whole drama.

In addition to the heroine Motoko played by Matsumoto Keiko, other main characters include the congressman Yasuda who secretly likes her but can only marry someone else, as well as the prey such as doctors, principals, and politicians who are blackmailed by her one by one, and several women who are either enemies or friends with her, or are used as tools by her to achieve her goals.

Then, the roles that have been decided include the hero played by Miura Tomokazu, the beauty salon doctor played by Utsui Ken, the head nurse next to Utsui Ken played by Ishida Yoshiko, the heroine's opponent Namiko played by Sawaguchi Yasuko, the candlestick mama-san played by Taurus Palace artist Yukiyo Juju, and the Ginza gangster who provides information to the heroine played by Tetsuya Watari.

All other roles need to go through strict casting competition and be carefully selected from the candidates recommended by major brokerage companies.

Especially the political bigwigs with the greatest energy and the darkest heart, who went through many twists and turns and were finally decided before the filming started.

In theory, the subject of this TV series fits the current social atmosphere very well. Not only is the pay from the Mist Studio sufficient, but the show is also one of Seicho Matsumoto's well-known works, and is directed by the famous director Yoshitaro Nomura. The main characters are all big stars in the Japanese industry.

No matter how you look at it, this TV series is a major drama to be broadcast during prime time, and it will definitely achieve a high ratings after it is broadcast.

These actors who have finally become characters in the show should cherish this opportunity and do their best to play the role well.

Even the agency behind them will probably tell them solemnly that in order to improve their own level and act well, it is very likely that the show will become a big hit.

But the most bizarre thing happened. Less than a week after the filming started, almost all the actors who were publicly selected handed in their resignations and wanted to leave the crew, even if they had to pay liquidated damages.

What's even more strange is that their agency actually supports them in this way.

The agents of those actors have changed their initial attitude of repeatedly asking for help and kneeling down to win the role, and have become distant and cold.

When asked why the actors quit, they didn't tell us. They just gave vague answers and said they were willing to pay for the breach of contract. Those with good attitudes apologized a few times, while those with bad attitudes simply hung up.

Even the extras got into trouble.

Some people actually contacted the studio to return their participation fees, saying that they didn't want their appearance to appear in the show again.

They also warned the studio that this was a question of portrait rights, and if a hair of theirs appeared on the TV screen after the TV series was broadcast, they would appeal to the relevant authorities.

In short, all this happened suddenly and confusingly.

It seemed like a completely unprovoked disaster.

Everything was unusual and strange, but it made people angry and had nowhere to vent.

"Since when did a small extra dare to go against the studio? Are they crazy? Are they so bold?"

"And those actors and venues, how could they do this! What good will it do for them to break the contract without authorization? They are shameless, who will dare to cooperate with them in the future?"

"No! We must ask the Ministry of Justice to hold them accountable, and sue their agency as well. Let them compensate us for all our losses!"

Watanabe Mitsuru had just been relieved by the increasingly better financial situation of the agency and the studio, but he didn't expect such a thing to happen.

The huge loss without any reason made him furious.

His face turned black, and he couldn't accept such a fact at all.

"Watanabe, don't worry, there must be a reason! It's not unreasonable."

Okamoto Akira was also very angry, but he could still keep his sanity.

While responding to his colleagues' indignation, he made his own judgment.

"There must be someone behind this. Someone is deliberately targeting us and wants to make things difficult for us. Otherwise, such a coincidence would never happen. Only by finding this person first can we find a solution."

This is very obvious, and Matsumoto Keiko and Ning Weimin certainly saw it.

They also suspected that someone was behind it, otherwise it would be impossible for such a blatant breach of contract for the filming location and actors who had already signed the contract to happen.

This is no longer the kind of dishonest behavior that is easy to be criticized, but involves the legal cost of facing claims.

But the other party is fearless and insists on doing this regardless of the consequences. This is the most intriguing part.

"But the question is, who wants to embarrass us? Who have we offended? Who would hate us so much that they have to ruin our filming?"

Matsumoto Keiko first expressed her confusion, and then her expression was shocked, as if she had thought of something.

At this point, she couldn't help but look up at Ning Weimin, her eyes full of worry, "Could it be..."

"No, it's impossible. It definitely won't be Kinji Fukasaku."

Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko are husband and wife, and they have long been in sync with each other on many things.

Just by looking at her expression, Ning Weimin knew that she was thinking of the famous director.

Although this guy's jealousy is his motive, he is just a director after all, and his ability is very limited.

He can't do such a thing, otherwise he wouldn't have lost so thoroughly in the last Academy Awards.

On the contrary, the person who can do such a thing and put them in such a passive situation, or this force, must be a powerful behemoth.

Otherwise, why would even the Singapore government change its attitude towards the crew, and so many filming locations and actors would risk compensation to break the contract?

This is all a matter of harming others and not benefiting oneself. Presumably, those locations and actors themselves are unwilling, and they must have been under some kind of pressure and coercion that they dare not disobey.

And it’s only been a week since the filming started, and almost all the actors who were publicly recruited have already run away. The efficiency is pretty good.

So the more magical the reality is, the more it shows the seriousness of the matter.

He claims to be kind to others and pursues coexistence of interests in everything he does.

How did he provoke such an enemy?

And why did he offend the other party?

I have no idea at all.

And it seems that there is no such a big boss in the Japanese film and television industry, or the entertainment industry.

Even the five big ones don’t have such ability.

Otherwise, if there was such a person, wouldn’t he have unified the world long ago?

What else are others playing with?

It's so strange. No matter how you think about it, this thing feels unreal.

But it happened again.

Who is behind all this?

What is his real purpose...

Seeing Ning Weimin lowering his head in deep thought and showing a serious expression, both Watanabe Mitsuru and Okamoto Akira closed their mouths.

They didn't dare to say anything, for fear of disturbing Ning Weimin's thoughts.

However, Matsumoto Keiko didn't have too many worries and said thoughtfully, "How about we try again? I'll visit them personally and talk to those offices? Maybe I can also ask others to help me. In short, let's do it first Please understand what happened. It’s just that the situation in Singapore is also urgent. I..."

"I'll go over there. I'll take Watanabe-san with me. If there is room for recovery, we may need to add some additional funds. It will be more convenient for the two of us to go together."

Ning Weimin didn't think much about it. Seeing that Qingzi proposed a pragmatic approach, he raised his eyebrows and took the matter into his own hands.

After all, the matter is huge and there is no way to solve it.

But it’s hard to find the crux of the problem without knowing enough about the situation, so how can we talk about a solution?

That's why Ning Weimin decided to go out in person to inquire about the situation, and then take appropriate measures based on the local situation.

He thinks he is better at this kind of thing than Matsumoto Keiko, and Keiko's connections and contacts are all in Japan, so she can only use her best abilities if she stays in Tokyo.

Matsumoto Keiko hesitated for a moment and felt that this was more appropriate, so she nodded happily and agreed.

However, the plan could not keep up with the changes.

Just when Mitsuru Watanabe ordered his subordinates at the office to book flights to Singapore and check into hotels.

A subordinate knocked on the office door and walked in with a flustered expression.

"What's the matter?" Akira Okamoto asked angrily.

"Sorry to bother you."

The subordinates will also look at their faces and know that the company has encountered trouble during the filming. The matter is being discussed in the room. It is not the right time to apologize quickly.

However, he also had a reason why he had to come, and he broke an important news without letting Akira Okamoto open his mouth.

"Just now... I just received a call from Burning Production. They said that their president wanted to meet with Matsumoto-san to talk about the shooting problems we are currently facing. The other party said that they might have a way to solve our current problems. dilemma, but we need to show corresponding sincerity..."

As the subordinate dictated the news, more and more sweat began to form on his forehead.

"What? Is it actually related to the combustion system?" Okamoto Akira said in astonishment.

"President Shu Fang? Are they targeting us?" Watanabe Mitsuya frowned.

At this time, except for Ning Weimin, who still didn't understand the meaning of the news, several other people in the room had frustrated looks in their eyes, expressing "no wonder it's like this" and "this is troublesome".

So Matsumoto Keiko continued to ask, "Then did the other party say anything else? When can we come to visit?"

"This... this..." The subordinate suddenly looked embarrassed and took a breath before he could muster up his courage.

"The other party left the room number of a hotel and only asked Matsumoto-san to come to the appointment on time at nine o'clock tonight..."

After reluctantly finishing speaking, the subordinate's face turned pale.

Not surprisingly, not only Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watabe cursed, but Keiko Matsumoto herself was so angry that she was shaking all over.

There is no doubt that this is a naked insult, and everyone understands the subtext.

Of course, Ning Weimin clenched his fists, but compared to swearing angrily, he wanted to kill President Zhou Fang.

Now, he cares more about other things.

"Watanabe, we're not going to Singapore. We're going to arrange the air tickets and hotels. Also, inform the crew to change the filming location immediately. Let them go to France first and shoot the French scenes first. Consider alternatives to modify the script."

If nothing else, Ning Weimin's biggest fear is not to fight with others, but to worry about the safety of the crew outside.

After all, Singapore is famous for its strict laws. What would outsiders like them do if they inexplicably break certain laws and are caught and imprisoned?

Before formally facing the enemy, he must eliminate his biggest fear and get his people out of the opponent's control first.

In this way, he has no fatal weakness and can deal with the enemy with all his strength.